On March 2nd 2014 Flexcoin was attacked and robbed of all coins in the hot wallet. The attacker made off with 896 BTC, dividing them into these two addresses:

1NDkevapt4SWYFEmquCDBSf7DLMTNVggdu

1QFcC5JitGwpFKqRDd9QNH3eGN56dCNgy6

As Flexcoin does not have the resources, assets, or otherwise to come back from this loss, we are closing our doors immediately.

Users who put their coins into cold storage will be contacted by Flexcoin and asked to verify their identity. Once identified, cold storage coins will be transferred out free of charge. Cold storage coins were held offline and not within reach of the attacker. All other users will be directed to Flexcoin's "Terms of service" located at "Flexcoin.com/118.html" a document which was agreed on, upon signing up with Flexcoin.

God damn it, how many times does this need to be said? If you stash your BTC online, you take a risk. If you store them with a 3rd party, you take a risk. No, Flexcoin is not a safe place to stash your BTC. This is elementary knowledge.

God damn it, how many times does this need to be said? If you stash your BTC online, you take a risk. If you store them with a 3rd party, you take a risk. No, Flexcoin is not a safe place to stash your BTC. This is elementary knowledge.

God damn it, how many times does this need to be said? If you stash your BTC online, you take a risk. If you store them with a 3rd party, you take a risk. No, Flexcoin is not a safe place to stash your BTC. This is elementary knowledge.

Wow. Bitcoins are being stolen all over the place. I guess storage isn't bank level yet.

This is because most, if not all, Bitcoin startups are currently run by guys in their early twenties with a lot of money and very little work experience which can not be trusted, especially since these small startups turned into multi-million dollar companies overnight.

I'm waiting to see what large Wall Street level companies such as Circle (www.circle.com) plan to do with Bitcoin. It takes a long time to get real money transmission companies in the works because of all the bureaucratic red tape. You don't see any Mom & Pop corner banks and its because starting or being a bank is not easy, cheap, or fast. Too many people treat these Bitcoin startups as banks when they're tinker toys at best when compared to a real multi-million dollar company.

You don't see any Mom & Pop corner banks and its because starting or being a bank is not easy

That's absolute nonsense.

There are thousands. Below is a list of the banks in just the UK. Yes, we have 5 massive banks that are on every high street, but we have hundreds of independent one branch banks. Mom and pop banks if you like. Most cater for high wealth individuals because most people just want to be able to use a cash card in any town, but if you want to put your savings in a small private bank, its no problem. You'll likely get better rates of interest too. http://www.altiusdirectory.com/Finance/uk-banks-list.php

There are thousands. Below is a list of the banks in just the UK. Yes, we have 5 massive banks that are on every high street, but we have hundreds of independent one branch banks. Mom and pop banks if you like. Most cater for high wealth individuals because most people just want to be able to use a cash card in any town, but if you want to put your savings in a small private bank, its no problem. You'll likely get better rates of interest too. http://www.altiusdirectory.com/Finance/uk-banks-list.php

Those are more like credit unions than banks. They don't offer the complete services that a large bank can provide. They are also, funnily enough, more prone to losing your funds. Who would have thought?

Thork

Those are more like credit unions than banks. They don't offer the complete services that a large bank can provide. They are also, funnily enough, more prone to losing your funds. Who would have thought?

Only you. In the UK they are regulated by the FSA and your savings are protected by your government in the exact same way as they would be with a high street megabank. As for losing your funds more often, I'd love to see a citation for that please. Most do not indulge in the casino banking that gets high street banks in the shit. Depositor for depositor there is no way they lose anywhere like the funds.

The main point being your deposits are protected ... which they aren't with bitcoin as many bohemian investors are finding out.